ok! just got back from trip #2 at the grass field proving grounds, the CG is now sorted out, at least its pretty dern close. unfortunately the wind is just a tad much, I should have waited but I had to know. the breeze is intermittently gusty and is anywhere from 0-20mph...very swirly. I figured if I waited for a calm patch and could get to a good altitude and get it on step she should be fine...didnt quite make it but it is now flying a whole lot better than it was earlier. so at least I can confirm the CG on the plans is definitely right

anyhow I turned and found myself heading downwind (from what was blowing on my face it should have been crosswind), and loosing altitude, so I decided to pull back power an try and put it into the grass as softly as possible, I am happy to say I was successful, she made it back down without any damage, and a big sigh of relief from me
I will go again tomorrow and baring the breezy conditions of the last couple days get her in the air and flying .

well SHE FLIES!
went to the grass field again at about 6:30pm, its been very breezy all day, I got up early today to try and fly before the wind kicked in but it was already blowing pretty good, so I waited all day hoping it would calm down enough for another go, finally it looked like it might be letting up some so away I went. by the time I got there the wind was back, but it didnt seem as bad as yesterday so I went for it, the wind was blowing the Phantom around some but it didnt seem too awefull bad, what was causing me trouble was the sun. I was trying to stay under it but wound up loosing it for a second or two, and at that point decided to go ahead and land, I had already done several laps around the field and it was obvious she flies perfectly fine, so I brought it around, cut power, and floated on down. I am VERY happy with the flight and if not for the sun would have had no trouble doing a full 4-5min flight, but safety first for myself, any bystanders (none that I could see), and of course the plane, I dont want to have to build another one this soon because it got lost in the sun.

so she flies great and she came out of it totally intact...phew.

here is the vid, enjoy

ps: the balance point came out to be 6 3/4" from the root leading edge...I have to say I am baffled by that..the glide tests I did clearly showed almost an inch farther back...well, I just dont know what to think about it, I'm confuzed about the whole thing.

pss: after looking at the "glide test " video several times I can see what I thought were good glide paths looked tail heavy from the cameras angle...obvious operator problem

hey all,
I got the painting all finished up on the Phantom tonight. I tried something new for stenciling that actually works pretty dang good. I used wax paper sprayed very litely
with elmers spray adhesive, let it set for a minute or two, then stuck it on. the first color applied was black on the nose, wax papered it off, then shot the light gray on the bottom, wax papered that off (leaving all the masking in place as I went), sprayed the tan, wax paper stenciled that, sprayed the dark green, wax paper stenciled that, then finally the olive. after drying I pealed all the masks off and this is how she looks now. I think it looks way better than #1 did.

still wont win no scale awards but hey she be a park jet.

pic #1 shows one of the wax paper stencils applied. now for some reason the tan looks yellow in the pics... lighting..? camera...? dont know but it is actually a med dark tan....camera i guess.

with that this build is officially completed and I am very happy with how she flies and how it looks hopefully one of you out there in RC land will build one and post some pics or vids, I would love to see em.

hey thanks guys!
I appreciate the comments, its an easy one to build, hardest part was the sanding and thats not really to bad, only other tedious thing is cutting parts out as carefully as possible. just remember to draw reference lines (like center lines) on your parts to help keep everything straight while building and it should be a beauty. show us some pics or vids if you decide to build one.

Joe, looks really good man! Congrats on a good looking, great flying bird! Interesting how you did stensils with wax paper and the "spray elmers"? don't think ive seen that before.. Congrats again.... now..... what's next? w.

hey thanks all,
@Walt,
I had trouble with my masking tape pulling off paint when I removed any masking, so I started experimenting with different things with mixed results...then it hit me that when I stick templates to the foam for cutting using elmers litely sprayed and allowed to dry off a tad, it peals right back off and doesnt leave any gummy residue. so I sprayed some wax paper and stuck it to a painted test piece and it worked like a charm! it also conforms quite well to irregular and curved surfaces too.
no that I know it works so good I might try adding more details to a paint job, like panel lines, numbers, insignia, ect..
"whats next?"...not sure yet, couple ideas come to mind but I havent decided yet. I have two 50mm alloy fan units (the 3s versions from HK that I really really like) and a 40mm AEO unit thats a little screamer and all the ESC's and servos to build any number of things...just need to pick one over the others. gotta do something out of the ordinary though I think.

Really nice build, your build technique is awesome and you are very generous to post the plans. This could be my first-ever EDF project. Currently I build and fly slope gliders, but jets seem to be calling me!

BillO,
hey hey awesome man! I used to do alot of sloping about fifteen years ago. got into that because I wanted to design and fly jets. I did several edf plane designs back then also that all suffered the same problems. ten years ago everything was nicads and brushed motors and 72mghz...., either the CF was causing radio dead spots or the brushes were doing it..and the weight....but now.. no worries. everything is lighter, more powerful, and more reliable.